A Comment on the Recent Events in Ferguson, MO

I have long advocated an end to the insane war on drugs. As of this writing, I have held this position for over twenty years.

If you disagree with that position, then we can have a civil discussion on many grounds and part friends even if our arguments do not lead to any agreement.

But if, after seeing all that has happened this last week in Missouri, you hold the position that this sort of thing is sometimes necessary (if perhaps sad or undesirable), and drug laws will sometimes need to be enforced with this sort of violence, then you are now, in my book, officially one of the bad guys.

You could, of course, hold the opinion that this has nothing to do with drug laws, in which case you are only wrong, and not necessarily evil. ;-)

Not that my opinion should matter to you, but if it does, you might want to have a close look at your motives and see if you are proud of them or not.

- Trevor.

I Hereby Support the Drive to Raise the Minimum Wage

 For years I have been frequenting fast food restaurants all around the country. The counter people are difficult to deal with about half the time. Sometimes their accents are hard to understand, sometimes they have trouble understanding me, and sometimes they just don't want to be there.

 I have wondered why we didn't have touchscreen ordering. There is no need to complicate this eating thing with people. Recently, I have seen touchscreen ordering start to appear in various, high-priced locations around the country, and I welcomed this development.

 Raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to the $10 I hear has been proposed would toss these workers out on their butts and replace them with polite and detail-oriented computers which up until now have been difficult to justify when there are teenagers willing to work for less.

 What will happen to those people who lose their jobs, you ask? Who cares. Screw 'em. Let them go on welfare, and let the people who get the new $10 per hour jobs pay an extra $2.75 (or more) an hour to support 'em. I mean, not enough to give them any happiness, just enough to keep them from rioting. They weren't at that job to learn useful skills anyway, they were just going to rot there at minimum wage their whole lives just like we did. Really, this is better, and we know what's better for them, because we're smarter. We need to fine them or jail them if they work for so little. Better they go on the dole.

 This should work out just fine, and I get what I want, which really is the important thing here.

 - Trevor.

P.S. If you can't tell that I was being ironic above, you are not allowed to read my blog anymore. I have logged your IP address and if you try to sneak back I will come to your house and attempt to give you a hug. So watch it.

P.P.S. Also, for those who sincerely believe the minimum wage will help poor people, I apologize for the snarkiness. I respect your desire to help. I sincerely think you're wrong, and I hope your efforts fail, but the snarkiness here is for my entertainment, not a serious economic or political argument against your position. Although that could be arranged if you'd like - I can be serious sometimes.

References: Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics, Google Search of Mises.org for "Minimum Wage"

Fog Lights

Fog lights on a clear night: The perfect solution when you're afraid that someone, somewhere, doesn't know that you're a jackass.

 - Trevor.